Harem: A Modern False Friend

While reading through the Apocrypha recently, I was reading the Additions to Esther. In order to get the whole picture, I read through Esther as well using the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) which incorporates the additions into the text of Esther itself. I made frequent comparisons back to the trustworthy King James Bible, and what I found was interesting.

 
In Esther 2:3, in the King James and in the NRSVCE (it reads the same in other NRSV editions), it reads thus:
 
"And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the fair young virgins unto Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, unto the custody of Hege the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given them:" (KJV)

"And let the king appoint commissioners in all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem in the citadel of Susa under custody of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women; let their cosmetic treatments be given them." (NRSVCE)

Now, if you notice, the phrase "house of the women" in the King James Bible becomes "harem" in the NRSVCE. The NIV, ESV, NLT, RSV, LSB, and NASB also read "harem" in that verse:

"...bring all these beautiful young women into the harem at the citadel of Susa..." (NIV, emphasis mine)

"...gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem in Susa the citadel..." (ESV, emphasis mine)

"...bring these beautiful young women into the royal harem at the fortress of Susa..." (NLT, emphasis mine)

"...gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem in Susa the capital..." (RSV, emphasis mine)

"...gather every young virgin, beautiful in appearance, to the citadel of Susa, to the harem..." (LSB, emphasis mine)

"...bring every beautiful young virgin to the citadel of Susa, to the harem..." (NASB, emphasis mine)
 
If you're like me, you are only familiar with one sense of the word harem—that of a man having multiple wives. The dictionaries reinforce this notion:

"the wives, concubines, female relatives, and servants occupying a harem"¹
 
"a group of women associated in any way with one man or household"²

"the wives, concubines, women servants, etc. occupying a harem"³
 
"In extended usage, the word also denotes the wives (or concubines) of a polygamous man"⁴
 
The word harem used to be able to refer to the quarters in which those woman resided. But, it was used strictly for Muslim households ("harem" comes from the Arabic حريم [harim]). It clearly doesn't mean that today, else we wouldn't see the "harem" genre so prevalent in media forms such as anime. Notice what the dictionaries say:
 
"a usually secluded house or part of a house allotted to women in some Muslim households"¹
 
"the part of a Muslim palace or house reserved for the residence of women"²

"that part of a Muslim household in which the women live; seraglio"³

"(in former times) the separate part of a Muslim household reserved for wives, concubines, and female servants"⁵
 
"esp. in the past, the women in a Muslim home, including the wives and other family members, servants, and female partners of a man, or the part of a house in which these women live"⁶

In the past, harem could refer to the actual residence of the women (in a Muslim household). However, it has seemingly lost this meaning today.
 
Even if harem retained that meaning in contemporary English, that would cause modern translations to call King Ahasuerus a Muslim. At worst, these modern translations call Ahasuerus a Muslim and make Esther part of a polygamous tryst, and at best they introduce—as Mark Ward calls them—a false friend into the text. They seemingly have inserted Islam into the text of the Bible.
 
The Hebrew is בֵּית הַנָּשִׁים (beit ha-nashim), literally meaning "house of the women." Thus, the King James Bible correctly translates it as "the house of the women."

 
Sources:
1. “Harem.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, 2025, merriam-webster.com/dictionary/harem. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.
2. “Harem.” Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com, 2025, dictionary.com/browse/harem. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.
3. “Harem.” Collins English Dictionary, HarperCollins Publishers, 2025, collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/harem. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.
4. “Harem.” Oxford Reference, Oxford University Press, 2025, https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095921569. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.
5. “Harem.” Oxford Reference, Oxford University Press, 2025, https://www.oxfordreference.com/search?q=harem+. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025. 
6. “Harem.” Cambridge Dictionary, Cambridge University Press, 2025, dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/harem. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why KJV?

Image
People often ask, "Why KJV? Why are you a King James onlyist?" In this post, I want to discuss some reasons why. Before I explain why I am a King James Bible believer, I want to make it clear what I do and do not believe. There are three main positions on the KJV: Hyper-KJV-onlyism (denoted by H-KJVO(ist)), you have regular KJV-onlyism (KJVO(ist)), and KJV preferred (KJVP). The H-KJVOist is the Ruckmanite . They believe in "dual" or "double" inspiration —the idea that the King James translators themselves were inspired in the process of making their translation. Next, we have the normal KJVOist. This person believes the KJV is a perfect in every word, much like the H-KJVO . However, in variance with the Ruckmanite, the normal KJVOist believes God helped guide the translators, but He did not inspire the translation. The normal KJVOist believes the KJV is perfect but allows the possibility of other perfect translations in other languages. Lastly, the KJVP. S...
Read more

Why I am a Classical Trinitarian

Image
Today, many Christians lack a good understanding of the Trinity. They know of the "three in one" but past that, they seem to have little knowledge. And in an attempt to explain it, many times they accidentally teach heresies—even if that is not their intent. In this post, I want to explain what the Bible says about the Trinity, and why I believe the Bible teaches what is known as Classical Trinitarianism. Basic Explanation of the Trinity: As we begin, I want to just explain what the Trinity is. The Trinity is not a term found in the Bible. However, it's a term we use to explain the triune nature of God (which is found in the Bible). Simply put, God is one What and three Whos . In other words, God is one Being and three Persons . As the hymn writer put it: "Holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty! / God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!"¹   There was a creed written in the 6th century, the Athanasian Creed. This creed gives a very good outline about th...
Read more

Contradictions in Modern Bible Versions

Image
As Christians, we believe the Bible is the inerrant and infallible Word of God. Therefore, when a "contradiction" arises, we can, through careful study, see that no true contradiction exists within this divinely inspired Book. If someone intentionally messed with the Bible, you would expect this congruity to be ruined, and this is exactly what we see. These modern translations of God's Word not only come from a corrupted source, but the way they've translated God's Word also causes contradiction. As we look into this topic, it is important to define the two types of contradictions we see:  textual contradictions  and  translational contradictions.  Textual contradictions are those caused by the text underlying a particular translation whereas a translational contradiction is one which stems from a poor translation of a particular passage. We will take a look at both of these in this article. Textual Contradictions: 1. As we begin, we will take a look at the Gosp...
Read more